Toy building construction



March 26, 1929. K. P. KOHLER TOY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed June 11, 1927 s Sheets-Sheet 1 March 2 1929- 6 K. P. KOHLER 1,706,696

TOY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Fiiea June 1 1, 1927 s Sheets-Shed 2 a 7 FIG. 8

INVEN T R Patented Mar. 26, 1929. l 30 UNITED STATES PATENT .OFFIC'E;

i I KURT P. KOHLER, OF GRAFTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

TOY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION. Application filed June 11, 1927; Serial 110. 198,217. This invention relates to toys, and more ilarly, the siding blocks, shown on an enparticularlv to the class known as toy buildlarged scale in Fig. 9, are provided with ing outfits, which are designed both to. tenons, or tongues 14, to shdably inter-enamuse children and to create and develop gage with the grooves 11. 6o 5 in them a knowledge of constructional fun- The ends of thebcams and struts are likedamentals and to give them some underwise provided with an interlocking arrange standing of building form and harmony. ment, in order to support the struts rigidly The object of this'invcntion is to provide on the columns. TlllS arrangement will be a series of building units which are capable readily apparent from Fig. 3, and from 65 of being fitted together to form miniature Figs. 6 to 8, which latter showthls feature office buildings, or other architectural strucof the column and strut formation in detail. tures, which are relatively rigid and which It is preferred, as may be seen, t-Ol)l"OVl(l0 are not liable to collapse. the ends of the columns with mortises 12,

The invention is illustrated in the ace-omto receive tcnons 13, preferably of the shape 70 -panying drawings, of which Fig. 1 reprecommonly referred to as dovetail.

sents in perspective a partially completed One of the chief characteristics of this structure made from building blockspFig. invention consists 1n the lmproved method 2 a partial elevation of a similar structure; of conferring rigidity to the structure when Fig. 3' is a plan view of a corner bay of the two or more tiers of columns are used. TlllS structure of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 .a vertical section necessary rlgidity s secured by making thetaken on the line IV-IV, Fig. 2; Figs. 5 length of the columns 1 and 2 such that it to 9 perspective views of typical building is different from the multiple depth of a elements; Fig. 10 a perspective view of the number of siding blocks, and by constructcornerv of a top of'a completed structure; ing these members in'this way, the siding and Fig. 11 a perspective view of a cornice blocks break joint with superimposed colmember. umns, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In

According to this invention there is prothis manner, successive tiers of blocks or colvided a toy building set including columns, umns are prevented from sliding sideways.

struts and siding blocks, and the aim of It will be evident that the columns 3 should 95 providing a toy building set wherefrom sebe, of the same length as columns 1 and 2. cure and rigid structures can be built, is se- Referring again to Figs. 1 and 5 to 7, it cured by the form which these elements take. will be seen that the inner. columns 3, do not In order to obtain this effect, the sides of receive siding blocks, and hence do not need the columns are provided with continuous to be provided with grooves 11; they are in- 90 dctents along the full length thereof, which stead provided on each end with four deinterengage slidably with detents in the Sid-[tents 12 preferably of the kind previously ing blocks. The ends of the columns and referred to. Likewise,-the detents 12 in exof the struts are also provided with detents terior columns 2 are situated opposite a finfor attaching the struts to and supporting ished surface, intended to represent the out- 95 40 them by the columns. In order to render side surface of the column, and the grooves the assembled structure rigid, the length of 11 are provided in the .two other parallel the columns is made such that it is different faces. The outer corner columns 1 are so a from a multiple of the depth of the siding .made that the grooves 11 are located in two blocks, so that vertically superimposed adjacent faces, the remaining two faces be- 1 blocks break joints with a tier of columns. ing intended to simulate the exposed outer According to one preferred embodiment surfaces of the column. d

of the invention, these detents or interen- The mode of use of these building blocks gaging members are made as illustrated. in is so simple as to require little explanation.

the drawings. In these drawings, 1 repre- For example six struts 4 are fitted into the sents a corner column, and 2 an ordinary top and bottom of appropriate outside and exterior column for use between the-corner inside columns in the manner shown in Figs. columns. As shown by the figures, and par- 1 and 4. With the outer columns thus fixed ticularly Figs. 5 and 6, these columns are in place, siding blocks 5are inserted in them, provided along their full length with conand the structure thus continued until the 110 tinuous grooves 11 such as are ordinarily desired floor plan is complete. By virtue of employed in tongue-and-groove joints. Simthe secure interlocking both of struts and columns and of columns and siding blocks, the building is then continued to the desired height.

When the building has been completed it is necessary to supply a roof. While this may be done in a variety of ways, ll prefer to blocks.

accomplish it by supplying assembled roots, which will readily lit the completed structure, and which while readily detachable therefrom are securely attached when in place. One, form of roof assembly which is satisfactory for application to such a tinished structure is illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11.

In these figures, 6 represents a cornice, which is preferably 'rabbeted as shown at 10 and 16. litabbet 10 is cut, as shown, so that it fits snugly the top siding block. the siding blocks. break joint with the colurnns, the top course will either extend too far beyond the columns, or will not be high enough to make a neat fitting joint with the cornice. Hence there is provided an extra set of siding blocks 15 for the uppermost course. These blocks are of such height, and the rabbet 10 in cornice 6 is so cut, that they extend down over block 15 and just meet the top of the columns, as will be apparent from Fig. 10, thereby giving a perfeet lit and the appearance of a properly finished structure. At suitable intervals along 6 there are fastened strips 9, which slip down along the inside surface of the The particular rabbet and these strips keep the root' securely in place. The corners of the roof may be made in any appropriate manner, as by mitred joints 7. The rabbet 16 extends entirely around the roof and is intended to receive the roofing itself. This may take the form of a sheet of cardboard, cork, or other suitable material, shown at 8.

All these parts may be constructed from any suitable material which possesses desir- Since I and described.

moaeea able properties, but it will be obviou' that for many reasons, Wood will be most suitable. Likewise, the various' members may be finished in any appropriate manner, as by painting or applying decorated paper, so thalt they will simulate real buildingmate- T151 S. i

It should be understood that the construction of these blocks and their detents is not limited to the forms shown by the drawings, as other methods may equally well be used.

lly the term detents as used herein, and

in the appended claim, there is implied any I 1 suitable form which will satisfactorily accomplish the purpose for which they are intended.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, it have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described What I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claim, the invention may be practiced by other forms of construction than that particularly illustrated ll claim as my invention:

A toy building set comprising columns, struts and siding blocks, the sides of the columns being provided with continuous grooves, the ends of the siding blocks being provided with tongues interengaging slidably with said grooves, the ends of the columns being mortised and the ends of the struts being provided with laterally tapered tenons cooperating vertically to lock them together, and the lengths of the columns being different than a multiple of the depth of the blocks, whereby vertically superimposed blocks break joints with a tier of columns to render an assembled structure rigid.

lln testimony whereof, ll sign my name.

KURT r. KOHLER. 

